Army Chief seeks time with PM, Antony

New Delhi: Amid signs of thaw in the war of attrition between him and the government, Army Chief Gen VK Singh has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister AK Antony on Friday.

The meeting between Army Chief and Prime Minister assume significance as the defence establishment has been in the eye of a storm after Gen Singh alleged that he was offered a bribe by an equipment lobbyist and the leak of his letter to PM on defence preparedness.

Although, Gen Singh has described the leak as "high treason" and the government promising that those responsible would be given "maximum punishment", the issue is far from over as it involves highly sensitive information that can work to the advantage of India’s enemies.

Defence Minister AK Antony vowed to take the "strongest action" under laws against those responsible for the leak, while disclosing that the Intelligence Bureau has been asked to go into the leak of the letter and said the government will
get to the root of it and find out the persons behind the "anti-national" act.

Importantly, Antony – indicative of government’s soft peddling of the confrontation with Army Chief - has asserted, “All the three service chiefs enjoy the confidence of
the government. They are working...otherwise, how can they continue."

However, what raised eyebrows was the absence of Army Chief at a Defence Expo dinner yesterday which was attended by Antony, Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju, Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma and senior officials
from ministry and industry.